The driver quietly left.

There were only two people left in the car, with raindrops pattering on the window outside.

A faint sandalwood scent permeated the air, the fragrance of Yu Nian’s perfume, especially cool and dark on this cold rainy night.

The dome light in the backseat was turned on, casting a faint glow on Yu Nian’s face.

Those eyes, seemingly smiling yet not, were like a deep pool in the depths of a forest, with a hint of a faint blue color, cold and beautiful.

Qi Wang couldn’t help but think to himself.

The changes in Yu Nian from his youth were indeed significant.

He had never imagined such a cold expression would appear on Yu Nian’s face.

The warm and sunny young man who used to lean on him, cry and say he liked him, had now grown up to be like a shining long knife, with a hint of indifference in his eyes, carrying a faint ridicule as he looked at him.

This gaze scorched Qi Wang’s skin inch by inch, making every part of him ache.

But his gaze couldn’t help but linger on Yu Nian’s hair and fingertips.

The person he had only seen on TV, in reports, and in dreams, was now vividly before his eyes. Even if someone told him it was a trap coated in sugar frosting, he would still jump into it without hesitation.

There was silence in the car for a long time.

The faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, soft and affectionate, yet like a soul-binding lock, making it hard to breathe.

Finally, Qi Wang spoke first.

“What do you want to talk to me about?”

What to talk about?

Yu Nian chuckled softly, looking out the window with an inscrutable expression.

Yes, what to talk about? Former lovers could catch up, but he and Qi Wang hadn’t even made it past the probation period. Insisting on carrying the title of “first love” seemed a bit inappropriate.

His voice was low and hoarse, surprisingly calm as he said softly, “When I saw you just now, I thought I was seeing things. I always knew that the great painter Qi Wang was you, but it always felt unreal. Now that I’ve seen you today, I realize it’s actually true. Life is indeed unpredictable.”

Eight years ago, when he met Qi Wang, Qi Wang was just a poor boy with nothing, renting a dimly lit apartment, working in restaurants and bars, with calluses on his fingers from life’s hardships.

Who would have thought that eight years later, this person would undergo such a transformation and become a celebrity walking the red carpet. Fate is indeed strange.

He smiled, the alcohol he drank finally seemed to take effect, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He asked Qi Wang, “Speaking of which, do I deserve some credit for your success? If it weren’t for exchanging me for a house and cash back then, how would you have had the initial startup capital?”

He joked with Qi Wang as if casually, “How’s that house? Are you used to living in it? Although three million in cash may just be a drop in the bucket compared to your current net worth, it should be enough for you to live worry-free. Think about it, don’t I deserve some gratitude from you?”

During the banquet earlier, amidst the fragrance of clothes and hair, and the clinking of glasses, most people present were diplomatic, but none of them knew that these two seemingly unrelated individuals in the car had once been in a relationship eight years ago.

Naive and innocent in their youth, they thought it was grand and passionate.

But the ending was disappointing.

Qi Wang’s eyelashes flickered.

He apologized to Yu Nian in a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry.”

But Yu Nian disdainfully laughed, “Who wants to hear that.”

Yu Nian said, “You really owe me an apology. If it were a few years ago, I would have cried and made a scene when I saw you again. And if I were more extreme, I might even have tied you up and dragged you back. Don’t think I couldn’t do it.”

He paused, then turned his head slightly, looking at Qi Wang seriously, chin raised slightly, with an air of arrogance.

Qi Wang’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

But the next moment, he heard Yu Nian say, “But now, after so many years apart, I’m not so childish anymore. What happened back then… let’s just forget about it.”

Forget about it.

It’s only when one is utterly disappointed that they say forget about it.

Qi Wang could understand.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Yu Nian’s generosity and openness only made his own agitation and confusion seem even more ridiculous.

His throat rolled, asking, “Have you been doing well these years?”

“Of course,” Yu Nian said, “Why wouldn’t I? I went abroad later, studied fashion design, which I love, and came back with my own brand. I’ve been balancing both my love life and career these years, feeling quite pleased with myself, and I get along well with my siblings. No regrets.”

These were all snippets of information Qi Wang had pieced together from various sources, but hearing Yu Nian say it himself made it different.

“Good to hear.”

He said softly.

This sentence seemed to irritate Yu Nian somehow, making him chuckle abruptly.

He asked Qi Wang, “Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”

Qi Wang thought, what could he say?

What he truly wanted to say, he no longer had the qualification to utter. Even a thousand “I love you”s could only be said in the confessional.

He listened to the cold rain outside the window, though the car was warm as spring, his fingertips were still cold.

He knew he shouldn’t speak out of turn given his status.

But he couldn’t help meeting Yu Nian’s gaze and spoke anyway.

“I know your career is important, but you’ve had stomach problems before, you should take care of yourself.”

During the banquet just now, he saw Yu Nian sneakily clutching his stomach.

Yu Nian raised an eyebrow.

The smile he had been feigning gradually faded, his expression turning blank.

Ironically, when they parted ways back then, Yu Nian did have some minor stomach issues, but nothing serious. He was just prone to indigestion, yet Qi Wang made a big fuss about it, even taking time off to accompany him to the doctor.

He remembered Qi Wang brewing herbal medicine for him in the tiny kitchen, the bitterness almost unbearable, yet he forced it down his throat.

At that time, he thought Qi Wang must have loved him very much.

But now, he took a deep breath, sarcasm seeping into his voice, “Mr. Qi, you are indeed considerate, selling me off once, yet still remember to care for old acquaintances.”

This scene was nothing like what Yu Nian had imagined.

Originally, he had intended to mock Qi Wang.

But then he thought, forget it, he’s an adult now, still clinging to an eighteen-year-old love would only make him seem unable to let go.

But the fact was, he was overwhelmed by everything that had happened between them when he faced the person in front of him, and all the agony and resentment of the past eight years surged up within him.

He was not a mature adult at all.

Eight years had passed.

The moment he encountered Qi Wang again, he reverted to the mischievous teenager he was at eighteen.

He hated Qi Wang, hated him so much that he tossed and turned every night, going mad at the mere thought of him.

But at the same time, he couldn’t forget. With just a glance at the banquet, he felt a chill run through his body, yet he had to maintain a facade of aloofness and indifference, calmly shaking hands with Qi Wang.

It was truly a mess.

Yu Nian’s hand rested on the car door handle, no longer in the mood to mock Qi Wang, he just wanted to escape this embarrassing atmosphere.

But his arm was pulled back by someone.

Yu Nian turned to look at Qi Wang.

The interior lights of the car were still on.

Qi Wang was bathed in the light, every feature clear and distinct.

Looking at him, Yu Nian could see the pain and despair that Qi Wang couldn’t hide in his eyes.

It was a look he was very familiar with.

Because eight years ago, Qi Wang looked like this every day, gloomy and despondent, as if he had lost all hope in the world.

He heard Qi Wang say, “I’m really sorry about what happened before… These past two years, I’ve returned to City A many times. When you were at New York Fashion Week, I was there too. I thought about going to see you. But then I realized even if I found you, you wouldn’t want to see me.”

“I know I don’t have the right to talk to you about the past. I’m scum, a rotten person, who ruined the best time of your life. If time could go back, I would also hope that you never met me.”

Qi Wang didn’t want to say these things.

It felt hypocritical.

An apology after hurting someone is worthless.

But what he truly wanted to say, perhaps he would never be able to say it.

And after today, he might never have the chance to see Yu Nian again.

He used all his willpower not to embrace Yu Nian.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, “I don’t expect your forgiveness, but seeing you doing well, it brings me joy.”

Yu Nian’s hand trembled slightly. He was about to get off the car, but these words caught him off guard and ignited his anger.

Joy?

He felt joy because he saw Yu Nian doing well?

He laughed abruptly, as if hearing the biggest joke in the world.

He thought, if possible, he wouldn’t want to meet Qi Wang.

But he already did.

He trembled more and more violently. When he turned his head again, the elegant composure he had maintained was finally shattered at this moment.

He grabbed Qi Wang’s collar and pinned him down in the corner of the back seat, leaning over him.

“Joy? What right do you have to feel joy?” he gritted his teeth, looking at Qi Wang, “Do you think you can apologize and act like nothing happened? Do you think you can escape the condemnation of your conscience?”

His chest heaved violently.

“Do you think I should accept your apology? Is a simple apology enough after all these years? Do you have your reasons, you’ve suffered, so I should accept your guilt and say it’s okay?”

He interrogated Qi Wang, pain clearly visible in his eyes.

His slender fingers clenched tightly together, the joints showing a bluish-white hue.

Exposed in the light, his skin was pale without any trace of blood.

His health had never been good, despite all the carefully prepared herbal remedies fed to him, despite a team of doctors carefully attending to him, he remained pale and emaciated.

He leaned against Qi Wang, as light as a long-tailed tit.

Since Qi Wang left that year, his health had never been good.

What’s the point of talking about taking care of oneself?

He choked Qi Wang’s neck, tears falling from his eyes.

Drop by drop, they fell onto Qi Wang.

“What right do you have… to treat me like this?” he said, his voice trembling unbearably, “You want to leave, so you leave, you want to break up, so you break up, without leaving anything for me and disappearing for so many years, now you want to end it with a casual apology…”

“You’re truly shameless.”

Qi Wang stiffened completely in the car seat.

Yu Nian’s tears fell on his face, turning from warm to icy cold, almost burning him like an iron, almost scorching him.

He could feel Yu Nian’s hand on his neck tightening slowly, as if genuinely hating him to the point of wanting to kill him.

And he didn’t resist at all.

He just gently held Yu Nian’s hand, wishing he could have died in that year when he was twenty, before they separated.

That way, at least in Yu Nian’s heart, he would always maintain a beautiful illusion.

But in the end, after just a few seconds, Yu Nian released his hand.

He knelt on Qi Wang’s body, his back slightly bent, trembling gently.

After a few more seconds, he took a few deep breaths, ran his hand through his hair.

When he raised his head again, the previous loss of control and despair seemed to have been hidden again.

“I lost control just now, I’m really sorry.”

He didn’t look at Qi Wang again, straightened his clothes, turned around, and opened the car door.

As he opened the door, he said, “I accept your apology. Let the past be the past. Farewell, Mr. Qi, perhaps forever.”

With that, he slammed the door shut and walked towards the apartment in the rain.

The new apartment he bought was on the top floor. Passing by the lobby downstairs, he saw Qi Wang’s driver sitting obediently in the waiting area.

The receptionist, noticing him drenched in rain, was startled and asked if he wanted the apartment steward to call a family doctor.

Normally, he wouldn’t mind thanking the receptionist for her kindness with some charming words.

But today he was too tired. He just shook his head and went straight to the elevator.

The driver returned to the car. When he saw the back seat, he was startled, even considering whether to call the police.

Qi Wang’s neatly pressed suit was now wrinkled, with a few buttons missing.

The collar of his shirt hung loose.

There was a bloodstain on his neck, scraped by someone’s fingernails.

Usually, this kind of situation could be considered a romantic affair, but looking at Mr. Qi’s expression, it didn’t seem like it.

Qi Wang closed his eyes wearily and said to the driver, “Drive to the hotel.”

The driver swallowed back the words he wanted to say.

But all the way, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance backwards.

In the back seat, Qi Wang remained motionless in the same position, lifeless, like a rusted, decaying sculpture.

He was an abandoned object in the wilderness.

Before Mr. Yu arrived, he still seemed to be holding on.

But now, he was disconnected from the world.

The driver shook his head in confusion, unable to understand what these wealthy people were thinking.

Mr. Yu was also strange, like seeking revenge, yet also seeking affection.

Qi Wang sat in the car, looking out at the increasingly heavy rain.

Somewhere in the sky, thunder rumbled unexpectedly.

He remembered before, when it thundered, Yu Nian would pretend to be scared and insist on getting into his bed, hiding in his embrace.

He held Yu Nian, never thinking that those were the best times of his life.

^[1]Author’s Note:

We pitifully watch the slightly crazy Xiao Yu.